From: Jackson Gothe-Snape

Can you please provide the travel expenses, invoices, receipts, credit card statements and reimbursements for the most expensive trip taken by a Minister or Assistant Minister in your Department's portfolio area in 2016-17.

I request that any fees arising in relation to this request be waived as the information is in the public interest, as it helps inform the public about how the government is spending public revenue.

We understand that relevant information is still being completed for the
full 2016-17 financial year. As indicated by the Department of Finance, it
will not be possible to identify the ‘most expensive trip’ until the
reporting and acquittal processes are completed.

Suggested withdrawal of request

As you may be aware, the Department does not have portfolio responsibility
for reporting on ministerial travel. Your request relates more closely to
the functions of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA).
We suggest that you contact IPEA directly ([2][email address]) in relation
to your request for documents.

Please let us know by COB 18 August 2017 if you would like us to continue
processing your request. If we do not hear from you by that date, we will
treat your request as withdrawn.

From: Employment - FOI

August 25, 2017

I refer to your email correspondence dated 22 August 2017 (below), and to
the Department’s notice under section 24AB of the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (Cth)(FOI Act), sent to you on the same day.

You have asked for ‘an itemised summary of all trips booked with your
travel provider for 2016-17 in spreadsheet format’.

As previously advised, the Department does not organise travel on behalf
the Minister. It is not clear from your correspondence whether you are
still seeking documents concerning ministerial travel, or whether your
request relates to trips taken by departmental employees. If you are
seeking documents concerning trips taken by the Minister, we remind you
that such information is the responsibility of the Independent
Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), and that the IPEA will publish
this information as part of its reporting processes. If your request now
relates only to departmental employees, we would propose to treat this as
a new request under the FOI Act, given that it is a significant departure
from the original scope of your request.

As such, the Department considers that you have not provided sufficient
information for us to identify the documents to which you are seeking
access, as required by paragraph 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act.

Would you please clarify the documents to which you are seeking access? It
would assist us if you would set out intended scope of your request, in
full.

From: Employment - FOI

September 01, 2017

We presume that you are no longer seeking to obtain information on
ministerial travel, and that the full scope of your request is as follows:

…a spreadsheet or database extract of all Department travel for 2016/17.

As foreshadowed in our correspondence dated 25 August 2017, we propose to
treat this as a new request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI
Act), given that it is a substantial departure from your original request.

We are also taking you to have withdrawn your original request.

If our interpretation of your request is not correct, would you please
indicate this by COB Monday 4 September 2017?